Thursday, 10 July 2014

According to a new market research report "Commercial Aircraft (Engine, Parts, and Equipment) Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2013 - 2019," published by Transparency Market Research, the global market for commercial aircraft is forecast to reach USD 265.71 billion by 2019. The market is driven by increased demand for aircrafts as an outcome of network expansion by airlines. Introduction of low cost carriers and expansion of destinations connected/served by airlines has in particular affected the demand for single aisle aircrafts. The report provides in-depth analysis of the market by segmenting it on the basis of parameters such as jet engine type, components, and aircraft type.

The global commercial aircraft market was valued at USD 189.21 billion in 2012 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.0% from 2013 - 2019. These aircrafts are predominantly powered by jet engines, which are classified as turboprop and turbofan engines. Of these, the turbofan engines segment because of their high speed (more than 400 mph) and better efficiency at higher altitudes is expected to record faster growth as compared to turboprop engines during the forecast period. In addition, growth of the commercial aircraft jet engines market is further aided by development of fuel-efficient models, which has resulted in replacement demand for engines from existing aircraft fleet.

An aircraft body comprises engines and other components such as airframe, landing gear, systems, interior and avionics. Of these, landing gear and airframe are expected to see faster growth with both segments collectively accounting for 72.3% share of the total market revenue in 2012. The demand for aircraft landing gears is driven by need for frequent replacement and high expenditure on maintenance, repair, and overhaul, of the landing gears, as they are frequently exposed to harsh conditions, and so are prone to damages. The same holds true for the airframes which also require similar frequent maintenance.

The demand for components is directly influenced by the type of aircraft; the larger the size more is the number of systems and material required. On the basis of size, aircrafts are segmented into large widebody, small widebody, medium widebody, narrow body, business jets, and regional jets. Narrow body (or single-aisle aircrafts) and large widebody aircrafts are emerging as key segments in terms of growth in the global commercial aircraft (engine, parts, and equipment) market, with demand for both segments distinctively characterized by flight route and traffic over it. While narrow body aircrafts are seen as the most preferred type by low cost carriers operating in the non-core routes (with less traffic), large widebody aircrafts see higher demand from airlines on core routes or routes with high traffic. Cost of operations and services offered onboard are some of the other factors affecting the demand for different aircraft types.

The selection of type of aircraft is also a strategic decision to be made by airlines in terms of their future investment and growth plans. Of the different types, regional jets segment accounted for 30.9% share of the total market revenue in 2012. This was mainly due to the increased domestic travel across North American countries such as Canada, U.S., and Mexico. U.S., which accounts for largest revenue share in North America, has the highest domestic passenger load amounting to 85.4% as of December 2013, as per the International Air Transport Association's (IATA) report on Air Passenger Analysis.

The global commercial aircraft market is consolidated with players who manufacture different types of aircraft models. Players such as Boeing Company and Airbus S.A.S. are the leading commercial aircraft manufacturers globally, and collectively accounted for 80.9% of the total market revenue in 2012. These players have a well established network of suppliers as well as service providers to meet varying requirements from different end-use sectors which provides them with a competitive edge in the global market. Other important players in the market are GE Aviation, Embraer S.A., Bombardier Inc., Rolls-Royce Holding Plc., BAE Systems, and Fokker Technologies.